Page 35 of The Secret Bookshop in Ireland

‘Yes, and now I’m near Enniskerry so I have a good connection,’ Ciara replied. ‘What did you find out?’

‘Just a few things,’ Ronan started. ‘Martha was born in nineteen twenty-seven in Cherrywood. Her father was the Garda sergeant there and her mother ran the bookshop that had been in her family since the mid-eighteen hundreds. The house was built to accommodate the shop, as a matter of fact.’

‘That’s what we thought,’ Ciara said. ‘So there was a police station in Cherrywood?’

‘Yes. It was first the one belonging to the Royal Irish Constabulary under British rule and then, after the War of Independence it became the Garda Síochána. Martha’s fathermust have experienced this transition. Exciting times in Ireland, I’d say.’

‘And scary,’ Ciara said.

‘Oh yes, that’s for sure. Orla, Martha’s mother, was actually a member of Cumann na mBan, the Irish women’s paramilitary organisation.’

‘Really?’ Ciara squealed. ‘That’s amazing. They played an important role during the War of Independence. But she was a wife and mother, too.’

‘Yes,’ Ronan said. ‘Martha’s sister, Madge, was actually born in nineteen twenty-three, just a year after the civil war ended.’

‘Gosh,’ Ciara said. ‘Orla must have been such a strong woman. Hold on a sec, I’ll put you on speaker so my mum can hear everything.’

‘What was that?’ Maureen asked. ‘About the guards and the mother?’

‘Martha and Madge’s mother was a member of Cumann na mBan,’ Ciara replied. ‘And Madge was born a year after the end of the civil war.’

‘Holy mother,’ Maureen said, looking shocked. ‘That’s some legacy.’

‘Yes,’ Ciara said. ‘And now I’m so proud of being a part of such a family.’

‘How do you mean?’ Ronan asked.

‘We think that Madge, Martha’s older sister, was my grandmother,’ Ciara said. ‘My father was adopted, you see, and…’ She stopped. ‘It’s a long story. I think you need to come up to Cherrywood and hear it all from us.’

‘I’d love to,’ Ronan said. ‘But I have another idea. I was going for a drive on Sunday with someone I want you to meet, so I thought we’d go to Powerscourt for lunch. Could you meet us there and then we can talk about everything? I’ve told her about you and your inheritance, and she found that very interesting.’

‘Her – who?’ Ciara asked.

‘Elaine,’ Ronan said. ‘She really wants to meet you.’

‘Oh,’ Ciara said. ‘Well…’Oh no, he wants me to meet his girlfriend, she thought, her spirits plunging.Do I really want to? Is this because he wants me to be his friend and nothing more?She glanced at her mother and then knew what she should do. ‘Ma and I will both come,’ she said, feeling she needed her mother’s support.

‘That would be lovely,’ Maureen said, interrupting Ciara’s musings. ‘We can have lunch outside and admire the gardens while we eat.’

‘That’s a plan, then,’ Ciara said.

‘Great,’ Ronan said, his voice warm. ‘We’ll meet in the lobby at twelve thirty.’

‘Okay,’ Ciara said.

‘Is there anything else I can help you with in the meantime?’ Ronan asked.

‘Yes, actually,’ Ciara said as an idea hit her. ‘Could you try to find out anything at all about a man called Jarlath O’Toole? I’d say he was born sometime in the early nineteen twenties, or even a bit earlier.’

‘Was he from Cherrywood?’ Ronan asked.

‘I think he was from Enniskerry,’ Maureen cut in. ‘He had a house here called Tír na nÓg.’

‘Okay,’ Ronan said. ‘Anything else?’

‘Just that he had to leave the country in nineteen forty-five or so after some scandal,’ Ciara replied. ‘That’s all we heard.’

‘Did he have anything to do with Martha Fitzgerald?’ Ronan enquired.